ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 5 August 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160018533 APPLICANT REQUESTS: correction of his record to show he added his spouse to his Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan (RCSBP) within one year of marriage. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * Self-Authored Statement * DD Form 2656 (Data for Payment of Retired Personnel) * Divorce Decree * Retiree Account Statement * Marriage Certificate * Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) Letter to Applicant * Beneficiary Statement * Letter to DFAS * Personal Record FACTS: 1. The applicant did not file within the three year time frame provided in Title 10, United States Code (USC), section 1552 (b); however, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records conducted a substantive review of this case and determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file. 2. The applicant states he was never offered or sent to retirement briefings or counseled on retirement. His first wife had to be removed from the SBP before he could add his current wife. It took over 2 years to do the paperwork for both issues without advisors helping. He apologizes for his ineptness. 3. The applicant provides: a. His divorce decree, dated 24 June 2003, which shows he divorced his first wife, Ms. X___. The divorce decree is void of information pertaining to the RCSBP distribution coverage. b. A retiree account statement, dated 1 May 2013, which shows he was paying SBP costs in the amount of $145.81 for children only coverage. c. A marriage certificate, dated 20 December 2013, which shows he married his current wife, Ms. X____. d. A letter from DFAS to the applicant, dated 9 June 2015, which shows he was unable to add his current spouse to his RCSBP due to not notifying DFAS within one year of their marriage. e. A beneficiary statement, which lists his current spouse and two children. f. A letter to DFAS, dated 1 September 2016, which states when he retired in 2004 he had been separated from his first wife since December 2000. He did not receive retirement briefings from his U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) unit so he did not realize he had to do paperwork to remove his first wife from his RCSBP. He rejoined a USAR unit in 2010 and completed documents to add his children to his RCSBP. He became eligible for retired pay at age 60 in 2012 and was rushed out the door by his unit and did not attend any retirement briefings. In April 2013, he started the process to remove his first wife from his SBP. He remarried in December of 2013. g. A personal data record, dated 19 March 2013 which shows his status as divorced. h. A DD Form 2656, dated 15 April 2019, which shows in Part III (SBP) that he was married to Ms. LB since 26 December 2013 and he had two dependent children. He elected: * option C (Previously Elected Immediate RCSBP Coverage) and annotated that his marital status had changed since his last election * he also elected coverage for spouse and children and did not indicate the level of coverage (full or reduced) 4. A review of the applicant’s service record shows: a. Having prior service in the U.S. Coast Guard, he enlisted in the Regular Army on 27 June 1972. b. He served in Germany from 15 December 1972 to 2 June 1975. c. He was honorably released from active duty and transferred to the USAR on 2 June 1975. His DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from Active Duty) shows he completed 2 years, 11 months, and 6 days of active service. d. On 18 August 2004, U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) issued a Notification of Eligibility for Retired Pay at Age 60 (Twenty Year Letter). e. His record contains page 2 (Page 1 is unavailable for the Board to review) of DD Form 2656, dated 6 December 2012, which shows: * he elected coverage for children only * he did not have a spouse * he certified this document in front of a notary public f. Orders Number C01-390038, as amended by Orders 17-150-00114, issued by HRC retired the applicant effective 22 November 2012. 5. By law, a person who is not married and has no dependent child upon becoming eligible to participate in the SBP but who later marries or acquires a dependent child may elect to participate in the SBP. Such an election must be written, signed by the person making the election, and received by the Secretary concerned within one year after the date on which that person marries or acquires that dependent child. BOARD DISCUSSION: After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found the relief was warranted. The applicant’s contentions were carefully considered. The Board agreed he intended to elect SBP coverage for his current spouse; however, he was not aware of the public law requirement to do so within a year of their marriage. The Board determined to grant relief by showing he elected coverage and was approved for it in a timely manner. The applicant is advised that he may have to pay catchup fees with the backdating of his SBP coverage. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 X X X GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by showing he properly elected the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) for his spouse and children on 27 December 2013, and his election was received and processed in a timely manner by the appropriate DFAS office. 9/6/2019 X CHAIRPERSON Signed by: I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case. REFERENCES: 1. Title 10, USC, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within three years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice. This provision of law also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the three-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. 2. Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1448(a)(5) provides that a person who is not married and has no dependent child upon becoming eligible to participate in the SBP but who later marries or acquires a dependent child may elect to participate in the SBP. Such an election must be written, signed by the person making the election, and received by the Secretary concerned within one year after the date on which that person marries or acquires that dependent child. //NOTHING FOLLOWS//